About Local 384

Once upon a time, eons ago ( 1951 ), in a galaxy more than just a few light-years away ...the nucleus of what would later become Local 384 began to take shape and within a year's time, as is frequently the case, the infant took its first tentative strides forward.

In 1951 there was neither CUNY nor Gittleson. There was, however, a governing body (the Board of Higher Education) which had jurisdiction over the institutions that would one day become CUNY. The personnel in these institutions, in addition to those holding faculty titles and professional, non-instructional titles, consisted of various support staff e.g. clerical assistants (by far the largest group), appliance operators, telephone operators, messengers, keypunch operators, office machine operators, plus custodial and maintenance workers.
WHY GITTLESONS?

In February 1952, the New York State legislature enacted a bill (listed in the New York State Charter as Education Law 6202a). This bill was introduced by then State Senator Harry Gittleson and, henceforth, the employees covered by the provisions of the bill were referred to as Gittlesons.

In brief, this unprecedented bill provided for the division of the Board of Higher Education Clerical Assistants into three groups having Civil Service status:

College Office Assistant and College Secretarial Assistant "A" --(the secretarial title designated those with stenographic skills; to qualify one had to be tested on and pass an additional examination -there was, however, no pay differential for the skill); College Office Assistant and College Secretarial Assistant "B", and, College Office Assistant and College Secretarial Assistant "C".

Further, this bill mandated the following percentages of employees within each title: No more than 40% of the titled staff could be in the "A" category, no more than 45% of the titled staff could be in the "B" category; and not less than 15% of the titled staff within the "C" category. This was the first time in the history of Civil Service that a percentage promotion had been written into law, making Gittleson employees extremely unique.

Eleven years later, in October 1963, feeling they were not being taken seriously or receiving equitable representation, Gittlesons and other support staff took another bold step; they voted to change their bargaining unit from " the Legislative Conference" (currently known as PSC; the Professional Staff Congress), to become part of AFSCME, District Council 37, and they were given the numerical designation for their Local of 384.

TITLES COVERED

04802 CUNY OFFICE ASSISTANT DC 37, LOCAL 384

04803 CUNY SECRETARIAL ASSISTANT DC 37, LOCAL 384

04804 CUNY ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT DC 37, LOCAL 384

04805 COLLEGE PRINT SHOP ASSISTANT DC 37, LOCAL 384

04806 COLLEGE PRINT SHOP ASSOCIATE DC 37, LOCAL 384

04807 COLLEGE PRINT SHOP COORDINATOR DC 37, LOCAL 384

04921 MAIL/MESSAGE SERVICES WORKER DC37, LOCAL 384

EOC OFFICE ASSISTANT DC 37, LOCAL 384

EOC ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT DC 37, LOCAL 384

Mission Statement

Local 384 mission is to move forward in the 21st Century “Requiring Excellence of Ourselves”; Our President, Executive Board Members and all of our Members. Together we can move forward, united as a cohesive force with the common goal of continuing to provide excellent service to the constituents we serve in the Higher Education community, the Faculty, Administrators, Staff and most of all the Students.